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Neighborhoods
San Francisco has both major, well-known neighborhoods and districts, as well as smaller, specific subsections and developments. Most people will identify five major districts, corresponding to the four quadrants plus a south-central district. These five broad districts, counterclockwise are: Central/Downtown, Richmond, Sunset, Upper Market & beyond (south central) and Bernal Heights/Bayview & beyond (southeast). Within each of these five districts are located major neighborhoods, identified by the San Francisco Planning Department 36 separate neighborhoods. Bernal Heights / Bayview Bernal Heights Bernal Heights is a neighborhood perched on a hill in between the Mission district, Bayview, and the Portola district. The neighborhood is known for its community feeling and progressive vibe. The majority of the neighborhood is white, but there are significant Latino and black populations in the area as well. The main shopping area in Bernal Heights is Cortland Avenue, with a variety of storefronts that include a health food store, a community center, a yoga studio, bars, bakeries, and restaurants. Many of the quaint, hilly streets in the neighborhood are so narrow that two cars cannot pass in opposite directions without one car pulling over to the side of the road. A few residents of the community have reported hearing a military bugle playing with the sunrise, though others have reported hearing a shofar. They report the sound as pleasant and triumphant, though they wish they knew where it came from. Bayview The Bayview stretches along Third Street south of Evans Avenue, west of the Hunters Point neighborhood. The Anna E. Waden Library, which is scheduled for major renovations and improvements, is located on Third Street and Revere, where the Neighborhood History Preservation Project is housed. Within a block or two of the library are three urban gardens and public art projects, developed entirely by residents, known as the Quesada Gardens Initiative (the Quesada Garden, Bridgeview Garden, and Latona Garden). The Bayview is known for its diverse population, warmer weather and community gardens. The area is served by the T-Third light rail line, and is home to the Bayview Opera House and City College Evans and Southeast Campus. The area is part of an $8 billion redevelopment plan by Lennar Corporation. Hunters Point Bayview-Hunters Point is a neighborhood in the southeastern corner of San Francisco. The decommissioned Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is located within its boundaries and Candlestick Park is on the southern edge. Since the 1960s, the Bayview-Hunters Point community has been cited as a significant example of marginalization. In 2011, it remained “one of the most economically disadvantaged areas of San Francisco”. Root causes include a working-class populace historically segregated to the outskirts of the city, high levels of industrial pollution, the closure of industry, and loss of infrastructure. The results have been high rates of unemployment, poverty, disease and crime. The Hunter’s Point shipyard’s toxic waste pollution has been cited for elevated rates of asthma and other respiratory diseases among residents. Gang and drug activity, as well as a high murder rate, have plagued the Bayview-Hunters Point district. A 2001 feature article in the San Francisco Chronicle cited feuding between small local gangs as the major cause of the area’s unsolved homicides. In 2011, The New York Times described Bayview as “one of the city’s most violent” neighborhoods. Central/Downtown Chinatown Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in North America and the largest Chinese community outside Asia. Since its establishment in 1848, it has been highly important and influential in the history and culture of ethnic Chinese immigrants in North America. Chinatown is an enclave that continues to retain its own customs, languages, places of worship, social clubs, and identity. There are two hospitals, numerous parks and squares, a post office, and other infrastructure. Visitors can easily become immersed in a microcosmic Asian world, filled with herbal shops, temples, pagoda roofs and dragon parades. Some among Chinatown’s residents pay homage to a spirit they call “Linguee.” They leave on their doorsteps for it food and small trinkets, claiming that if the spirit accepts their gifts good fortune will fall upon their houses. Financial District The Financial District is a neighborhood in San Francisco that serves as its main central business district. It is home to the city’s largest concentration of corporate headquarters, law firms, insurance companies, real estate firms, banks, savings and loans, and other financial institutions. The area is marked by the cluster of high-rise towers in the triangular area east of Grant Avenue, south of Washington Street, west of the Embarcadero that rings the waterfront, and north of Market Street. The city’s tallest buildings, including 555 California Street and the Transamerica Pyramid, and many other tall buildings, such as 101 California Street and 345 California Street are located there. Montgomery Street (“Wall Street of the West”) is the traditional heart of the district. All seven San Francisco Fortune 500 companies—McKesson, Wells Fargo, PG&E Corporation, Gap, URS Corporation, Visa and Charles Schwab—are located in the neighborhood. The world of finance, it seems, is an unforgivable one. The rate here of apparent suicides are one of the highest in the nation. Haight-Ashbury Haight-Ashbury is a district of San Francisco named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called The Haight and the Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known for its history of hippie subculture and up and coming musicians. The area maintains a bohemian ambiance, though the effects of gentrification are also apparent and continually changing. The neighborhood remains a thriving center of independent local businesses. It is home to a number of independent restaurants and bars, as well as clothing boutiques, booksellers, head shops and record stores including Amoeba Music. The cohabitation between throw-backs to the Fifties lounge scene, organic and spiritual New Age ambiance of the Sixties, punk-rock politics and computer culture is one of the neighborhood’s most interesting and endearing aspects socially and artistically. The Red Victorian hotel is also a popular attraction. An independent theater of the same name operates about a block away from the hotel. The neighborhood is home to many restored Victorian houses. Painted Lady Victorians are a common sight throughout the neighborhood. The Haight-Ashbury Street Fair is held on the second Sunday of June each year, during which Haight Street is closed between Stanyan and Masonic to vehicle traffic, with one sound stage at each end. Though known as an area where many new artists are “discovered,” the Haight has hosted more than its fair share of starving artists. There are times between the verses and exquisite scents that one can feel a sense of ominous depression. Mission District The Mission District, also commonly called “The Mission”, is a neighborhood in San Francisco originally known as “the Mission lands” meaning the lands belonging to the sixth Alta California mission, Mission San Francisco de Asis. This mission, San Francisco’s oldest standing building, is located in the neighborhood. The Mission is often warmer and sunnier than other parts of San Francisco. The microclimates of San Francisco create a system by which each neighborhood can have radically different weather at any given time, although this phenomenon tends to be less pronounced during the winter months. The Mission’s geographical location insulates it from the fog and wind from the west. This climatic phenomenon becomes apparent to visitors who walk downhill from 24th Street in the west from Noe Valley (where clouds from Twin Peaks in the west tend to accumulate on foggy days) towards Mission Street in the east, partly because Noe Valley is on higher ground whereas the Inner Mission is at a lower elevation. Ethnicity Trends Prior to the arrival of Spanish missionaries, the Mission District was inhabited by the Ohlone people who populated much of the San Francisco Bay Area. During California’s early statehood period, in the 19th and 20th century, large numbers of Irish and German immigrant workers moved into the area. Development and settlement intensified after the 1906 earthquake, as many displaced businesses and residents moved into the area, making Mission Street a major commercial thoroughfare. In 1926, the Polish community of San Francisco converted a church on 22nd Street and Shotwell Street and opened its doors as the Polish Club of San Francisco; it is referred to today as the “Dom Polski”, or Polish Home. The Irish American community made its mark on the area during this time, including notable residents etymologist Peter Tamony calling the Mission home. During the 1940-1960s, large numbers of Mexican immigrants moved into the area—displaced an earlier “Mexican Barrio” located on Rincon Hill in order to create the western landing of the Bay Bridge—initiating white flight, giving the Mission a heavily Latino character for which it continues to be known today. During the 1960s, Central American immigration contributed to a Central American presence that outnumbered Mexicans in the 1960s. In the 1980s and 1990s, the neighborhood received a higher influx of immigrants and refugees from Central and South America fleeing civil wars and political instability at the time. These immigrants brought in many Central American banks and companies which would set up branches, offices, and regional headquarters on Mission Street. Landmarks and Features Mission Dolores, the eponymous former mission located the far western border of the neighborhood on Dolores Street, continues to operate as a chapel and as a California Historical Landmark. Numerous Latino artistic and cultural institutions are based in the Mission. These organizations were founded during the social and cultural renaissance of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Latino community artists and activists of the time organized to create community-based arts organizations that were reflective of the Latino aesthetic and cultural traditions. Throughout the Mission walls and fences are decorated with murals initiated by the Chicano Art Mural Movement of the 1970s and inspired by the traditional Mexican paintings made famous by Diego Rivera. Some of the more significant mural installations are located on Balmy Alley, and Clarion Alley. Eureka Valley Eureka Valley is a neighborhood in San Francisco, primarily a quiet residential neighborhood but boasting one of the most visited sub-neighborhoods in the city, The Castro. It is an affluent neighborhood popular with families and the LGBT community. The rainbow flag, signifying LGBT pride, can be seen displayed throughout the area. It was initially a working-class Irish neighborhood until a combination of factory jobs loss and the migration of gays into The Castro radically changed the neighborhood in the 1960s. In 1977, this district elected the first openly gay politician—Harvey Milk—to public office (San Francisco Board of Supervisors). The Castro The Castro District, commonly referenced as The Castro, is a neighborhood in Eureka Valley in San Francisco. The Castro was one of the first gay neighborhoods in the United States. Having transformed from a working-class neighborhood through the 1960s and 1970s, the Castro remains one of the most prominent symbols of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activism and events in the world. Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of 1,017 acres of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the development of Golden Gate Park. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20 percent larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a mile north to south. With 13 million visitors annually, Golden Gate is the fifth most-visited city park in the United States after Central Park in New York City, Lincoln Park in Chicago, and Balboa Park and Mission Bay Park in San Diego. Following the disastrous events of the famous 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Golden Gate Park has also served as a safe-haven for survivors and refugees of the devastating catastrophe. “The Army constructed a virtual town with large residential barracks temporary tented housing, latrines and bathhouses, laundries, and other services.” The park seems to be the one place in San Francisco that does not suffer long-term any calamity. No matter the time of year, the park is green and vibrant, offering itself as a place of relaxation and inspiration. The Market Upper Market is the area between the southern end of Market Street and Twin Peaks mainly spanning Corbett Avenue and Burnett Avenue. Clayton Street is on the north side of Upper Market, and Portola Drive is to the south. The Market is a high-crime neighborhood, particularly with violent street crime such as robbery and aggravated assault. Seven of the top ten violent crime plots (out of 665 in the entire city as measured by the San Francisco Police Department) are adjacent plots in the Tenderloin and Sixth and Market area. The neighborhood is considered to be the origin of a notorious Filipino gang Bahala Na Gang or BNG, a gang imported from the Philippines, involved in extortion, drug sales, and murder for hire. Graffiti art and tagging are a common problem in the district. Dealing and use of illicit drugs occurs on the streets. Property crimes are common, especially theft from parked vehicles. Violent acts occur more often here and are generally related to drugs. The area has been the scene of escalating drug violence since 2007, including brazen daylight shootings as local gangs from San Francisco and others from around the Bay Area battle for turf. Noe Valley Noe Valley is an affluent neighborhood in the central part of San Francisco. Like many other San Francisco neighborhoods, Noe Valley started out as a working-class neighborhood for employees and their families in the area’s once-thriving blue-collar economy but has since undergone successive waves of gentrification and is now considered an upscale neighborhood. It is home to many urban professionals, particularly young couples with children. It is colloquially known as Stroller Town, for the many strollers in the neighborhood. The median sale price for homes in Noe Valley as of September 2015 was $2.37 million. One of the attractions of Noe Valley is that the adjacent Twin Peaks partly blocks the coastal fog and cool winds from the Pacific, making the microclimate usually sunnier and warmer than surrounding neighborhoods. Traffic flow is limited—one main north access through Castro Street to Eureka Valley, one main west access up Clipper Street toward the former Twin Peaks toll plaza and west of the city, several east accesses to the Mission District through 24th Street, Cesar Chavez, and other numbered streets, and the main north–south Church Street access used by the J Church Muni Light Rail. The neighborhood is primarily residential, although there are two bustling commercial strips, the first along 24th Street, between Church Street and Diamond Street, and the second, less dense corridor along Church Street, between 24th Street and 30th Street. The Presidio The Presidio of San Francisco is a park and former military fort on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It had been a fortified location since September 17, 1776, when New Spain established it to gain a foothold on Alta California and the San Francisco Bay. It passed to Mexico, which in turn passed it to the United States in 1848. As part of a 1989 military reduction program under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, Congress voted to end the Presidio’s status as an active military installation of the U.S. Army. On October 1, 1994, it was transferred to the National Park Service, ending 219 years of military use and beginning its next phase of mixed commercial and public use. In 1996, the United States Congress created the Presidio Trust to oversee and manage the interior 80% of the park’s lands, with the National Park Service managing the coastal 20%. In a first-of-its-kind structure, Congress mandated that the Presidio Trust make the Presidio financially self-sufficient by 2013, which it achieved eight years ahead of the scheduled deadline. The park is characterized by many wooded areas, hills, and scenic vistas overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. It was recognized as a California Historical Landmark in 1933 and as a National Historic Landmark in 1962. Richmond Lying directly north of Golden Gate Park, “the Richmond” is bounded roughly by Fulton Street to the south, Arguello Boulevard and Laurel Heights to the east, The Presidio National Park and Lincoln Park to the north, and Ocean Beach and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Park Presidio Boulevard, a major thoroughfare, divides the Richmond into the western “Outer Richmond” and the eastern portion, called the “Inner Richmond.” Geary Boulevard is a major east-west thoroughfare that runs through the Richmond and to downtown. The district was given its name by Australian immigrant and art dealer George Turner Marsh, one of the neighborhood’s earliest residents, who called his home “the Richmond House” after Richmond, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Neighborhoods Richmond District consists of five residential neighborhoods: Lake Street District The Lake Street District is just south of Presidio of San Francisco and north of Inner Richmond. It is an affluent neighborhood characterized by its many Victorian/Edwardian mansions. Its boundaries are: Presidio to the north, Arguello Blvd to the east, California St. to the south, and 25th Ave. to the west. Its name is derived from Lake Street, the district’s only main artery. Lake District is known for the large Victorian/Edwardian houses. Sea Cliff Sea Cliff is a small neighborhood consists of mostly exclusive mansions, so named because this neighborhood sits along the northwestern cliff of the Richmond District that borders the Pacific Ocean. Its boundaries are Pacific Ocean to the north, Presidio to the east, California St. to the south, and Legion of Honor to the west. Some houses in Sea Cliff have unobstructed view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Inner Richmond Inner Richmond sits south of Lake District. Its boundaries are: California St. to the north, Arguello Blvd to the east, Fulton St. to the south, and Park Presidio Blvd. to the west. The hub of northern Inner Richmond is Geary Blvd. and Clement St. which are particularly known for Chinese, Cambodia, Korean, Burmese, and Russian cuisine. The hub of southern Inner Richmond is Balboa St, which is known for Japanese and Korean restaurants. Inner Richmond is a diverse neighborhood with a sizable Chinese and Russian population. Central Richmond Central Richmond is between Inner Richmond (to the east) and Outer Richmond (to the west). It is bounded by Park Presidio Blvd to the east, California St. to the north, Fulton St. to the south, and 33rd Ave. to the west. Its commercial strips are on Geary Blvd. and Clement St. (between 22nd to 26th Ave.). Central Richmond has a vast Chinese population and houses several top rated Chinese restaurants. Outer Richmond Outer Richmond is to the west of Central Richmond. It is bounded by Clement St. to the north, 33rd Ave. to the east, Fulton St. to the south, and Ocean Beach to the west. The neighborhood’s primary attraction is Cliff House, currently operating as a restaurant perched on the headland above the cliffs just north of Ocean Beach. It overlooks the site of the former Sutro Baths and is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, operated by the National Park Service. On the terrace of the Cliff House is a room-sized camera obscura. More than thirty ships have been pounded to pieces on the southern shore of the Golden Gate below the Cliff House. The area immediately around Cliff House is part of the setting of Jack London’s novel The Scarlet Plague (1912). Sunset The Sunset District is the largest district within the city of San Francisco, and with a population of over 85,000 it is also the most populous. Golden Gate Park forms the neighborhood’s northern border, and the Pacific Ocean (or, more specifically, the long, flat strand of beach known as Ocean Beach) forms its western border. The Sunset District’s southern and eastern borders are not as clearly defined, but there is a general consensus that the neighborhood extends no farther south than Sigmund Stern Grove and Sloat Boulevard and no farther east than Stanyan Street (just east of the Parnassus campus of the University of California, San Francisco) and Laguna Honda Hospital. Neighborhoods For most of its history, the Sunset existed as a large individual area. In recent years, the district has been popularly divided into four smaller neighborhoods with sometimes vague borders. Inner Sunset The Inner Sunset is bordered by Lincoln Way to the north, Arguello Boulevard to the east, Quintara Street to the south, and 19th Avenue to the west. This far-east section of the Sunset is located just west of Mount Sutro. The main commercial area is along Irving Street from 5th Avenue to 10th Avenue, which is dotted with a variety of restaurants and shops. The Inner Sunset is the least foggy part of the predominantly foggy neighborhood. Central Sunset The Central Sunset is bounded by Lincoln Way to the north, 19th Avenue to the east, Quintara Street to the south, and Sunset Boulevard to the west. This area is mostly residential with a commercial strip along Irving Street from 19th Avenue to 24th Avenue and on Noriega Street from 19th Avenue to 27th Avenue and 30th Avenue to 33rd Avenue. Features of the area include the massive Sunset Reservoir (which takes up eight square blocks between Ortega and Quintara streets and 24th and 28th avenues), which has a small park surrounding its outer rim; Golden Gate Park; the Sunset Recreation Center; and Abraham Lincoln High School. Outer Sunset The Outer Sunset is bordered by Lincoln Way to the north, Sunset Boulevard (between 36th and 37th avenues) to the east, Sloat Boulevard to the south, and Ocean Beach to the west. The primary commercial avenues are Irving, Noriega, and Taraval. The Outer Sunset the foggiest section in San Francisco due to its close proximity to Ocean Beach. The area’s main attractions include the San Francisco Zoo, Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach, and Lake Merced. Parkside The Parkside is bordered by Quintara Street to the north, 15th Avenue to the east, Wawona Street to the south, and Sunset Boulevard to the west. The main commercial street in the area is Taraval Street. The Parkside as a neighborhood started in July 1905 when a syndicate led by William Crocker announced they had quietly bought land from the estate of Adolph Sutro and others to create a new million-dollar development. The “park” of Parkside is not Golden Gate Park, but rather the stand of trees and plants around Laguna Puerca (now called Pine Lake, and often called “Mud Lake” by old-timers) west of Sigmund Stern Grove. Twin Peaks The Twin Peaks are two prominent hills with an elevation of about 925 feet located near the geographic center of San Francisco. Before the arrival of the Europeans, the native Ohlone people used Twin Peaks as a lookout and hunting ground. The ecological diversity of Twin Peaks provided medicinal or ceremonial plants, grains and berries. When the Spanish conquistadors and settlers arrived at the beginning of the 18th century, they called the area “Los Pechos de la Chola” or “Breasts of the Indian Maiden” and devoted the area to ranching. When San Francisco passed under American control during the 19th century, it was renamed “Twin Peaks.” Attractions Christmas Tree Point lies some 70ft below the North Peak and offers vistas of San Francisco and San Francisco Bay. The view to the north extends no farther than Cobb Mountain 120km away, but looking southeast down the Santa Clara Valley on a clear day, Santa Ana Mountain is just visible 143km away. To the north is one of the city’s many reservoirs. It is owned by the San Francisco Fire Department, and supplies water to the Fire Department’s independent HPFS water system for fighting fires, established after the 1906 earthquake and fire. The top of Twin Peaks is undeveloped. It is part of the 31 acres Twin Peaks Natural Area, managed and owned by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. These preserved areas are home to many natural resources and wildlife. As part of the Mission blue butterfly habitat conservation, Twin Peaks is one of the few remaining habitats for this endangered species. Many bird species, insects and vegetation thrive in these areas. The Muni Metro Twin Peaks Tunnel runs beneath Twin Peaks, linking Downtown San Francisco with West Portal and the southwestern part of the city. There is no public transportation all the way to the top of the Peaks, but the 37 Corbett Muni line stops on Crestline Drive near a path up the hill. The San Francisco Police Department Academy is at the base of the peaks. The name “Twin Peaks” is also applied to the surrounding neighborhood. Alcatraz Island Although not a district, per se, Alcatraz is a prominent feature of San Francisco. The small island was developed with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison (1868), and a federal prison from 1933 until 1963. Beginning in November 1969, the island was occupied for more than 19 months by a group of aboriginal people from San Francisco who were part of a wave of Native activism across the nation with public protests through the 1970s. In 1972, Alcatraz became a national recreation area and received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1986. Today, the island's facilities are managed by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area; it is open to tours. Visitors can reach the island by ferry ride from Pier 33, near Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco. Hornblower Cruises and Events, operating under the name Alcatraz Cruises, is the official ferry provider to and from the island. History The earliest recorded owner of the island of Alcatraz is Julian Workman, to whom it was given by Mexican governor Pio Pico in June 1846, with the understanding that Workman would build a lighthouse on it. Later in 1846, acting in his capacity as Military Governor of California, John C. Fremont, bought the island for $5,000 in the name of the United States government. Fremont had expected a large compensation for his initiative in purchasing and securing Alcatraz Island for the U.S. government, but the U.S. government later invalidated the sale and paid Fremont nothing. Following the acquisition of California by the United States and the onset of the California Gold Rush the following year, the U.S. Army began studying the suitability of Alcatraz Island for the positioning of coastal batteries to protect the approaches to San Francisco Bay. In 1853 the United States Army Corps of Engineers began fortifying the island, eventuating in Fortress Alcatraz. The island's first garrison at Camp Alcatraz, numbering about 200 soldiers and 11 cannons arrived at the end of that year. When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, the island mounted 85 cannons (increased to 105 cannons by 1866) in casemates around its perimeter, though the small size of the garrison meant only a fraction of the guns could be used at one time. At this time it also served as the San Francisco Arsenal for storage of firearms to prevent them falling into the hands of Confederate sympathizers. Alcatraz, built as a "heavily fortified military site on the West Coast", formed a "triangle of defense" along with Fort Point and Lime Point, and ensured security to the bay. Alcatraz never fired its guns offensively, though during the war it was used to imprison Confederate sympathizers and privateers on the west coast. Military Prison Because of its isolation from the outside by the cold, strong, hazardous currents of the waters of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz was used to house Civil War prisoners of war (POWs) as early as 1861. Following the war in 1866, the army determined that the fortifications and guns were being rapidly rendered obsolete by advances in military technology. Modernization efforts, including an ambitious plan to level the entire island and construct shell-proof underground magazines and tunnels, were undertaken between 1870 and 1876 but never completed. Instead, the army switched the focus of its plans for Alcatraz from coastal defense to detention, a task for which it was well suited because of its isolation. In 1867, a brick jailhouse was built (previously inmates had been kept in the basement of the guardhouse), and in 1868, Alcatraz was officially designated a long-term detention facility for military prisoners. In 1898, the Spanish–American War increased the prison population from 26 to over 450. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, civilian prisoners were transferred to Alcatraz for safe confinement. On March 21, 1907, Alcatraz was officially designated as the Western U.S. Military Prison. In 1909 construction began on the huge concrete main cell block, designed by Major Reuben Turner, which remains the island's dominant feature. It was completed in 1912. To accommodate the new cell block, the Citadel, a three-story barracks, was demolished down to the first floor, which was actually below ground level. The building had been constructed in an excavated pit (creating a dry "moat") to enhance its defensive potential. The first floor was then incorporated as a basement to the new cell block, giving rise to the popular legend of "dungeons" below the main cell block. The Fortress was deactivated as a military prison in October 1933 and transferred to the Bureau of Prisons. Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary The United States Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz was acquired by the United States Department of Justice on October 12, 1933, and the island became a federal prison in August 1934. Alcatraz was designed to hold prisoners who continuously caused trouble at other federal prisons. At 9:40 am on August 11, 1934, the first batch of 137 prisoners arrived at Alcatraz, arriving by railroad from the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas at Santa Venetia, California, before being escorted to Alcatraz, handcuffed in high security coaches and guarded by some 60 special FBI agents, U.S. Marshals and railway security officials. Most of the prisoners were notorious bank robbers and murderers. The prison initially had a staff of 155. The staff were highly trained in security, but not rehabilitation. During the 29 years it was in use, the jail held some of the most notorious criminals in American history, such as Al Capone, Robert Franklin Stroud (the "Birdman of Alcatraz"), George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Bumpy Johnson, Rafael Cancel Miranda (a member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party who attacked the United States Capitol building in 1954), Mickey Cohen, Arthur R. "Doc" Barker, James "Whitey" Bulger, and Alvin "Creepy" Karpis (who served more time at Alcatraz than any other inmate). It also provided housing for the Bureau of Prisons staff and their families. During its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary claimed that no prisoner successfully escaped. A total of 36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts, two men trying twice; 23 were caught alive, six were shot and killed during their escape, two drowned, and five are listed as "missing and presumed drowned". Prison Shutdown Because the penitentiary cost much more to operate than other prisons (nearly $10 per prisoner per day, as opposed to $3 per prisoner per day at Atlanta), and half a century of salt water saturation had severely eroded the buildings, then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy ordered the penitentiary closed on March 21, 1963. In addition, citizens were increasingly protesting the environmental effects of sewage released into San Francisco Bay from the approximately 250 inmates and 60 Bureau of Prisons families on the island. That year, the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois, on land, opened as the replacement facility for Alcatraz. Rumors... For years after the prison was shut down there have been rumors circulating that the island is haunted. Tourists visiting the prison claim to see shadows moving from time time or hearing strange noises their tour guide cannot account for. Add to this the American Indian interest in the island and the island's legend is rife enough with material the spark the imagination of even the staunchest mundane. The OSI, however, has suspected for quite some time that a vampire lives on the island. How it survives there and why it doesn't attack tourists during the day is a question the FBI continues to ponder... Pages... 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